Insulated Coolers That Keep Your Potato Salad from Going Bad

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Whether you're picnicking, hiking, camping or road-tripping, you'll want to keep your food and friends safe this summer. A well-insulated cooler can keep illness-causing bacteria from multiplying in food, so you spend less time getting heated up over spoiled salads and more time chilling out with family.

To find which ones can stay as cold as a fridge, we evaluated 27 different models. The top two: Rubbermaid DuraChill Wheeled 5-day cooler ($39.97 at Lowes), (pictured left) and the Igloo Earth 24 ($32.29)

at amazon.com). Both can reach temperatures below 40 degrees F or safe enough to prevent bugs from growing quickly and maintain these temperatures for a full 12 hours. We also like the fact that because of their rigid structures, these two are easy to pack and stack. If these coolers don't meet your needs, check out our complete study. Want to know how we tested? Find out right here on goodhousekeeping.com.

Some tips for packing:

Make sure you pack ice or frozen gel-packs along with your food, using at least one half pound of ice per quart capacity of the cooler.

If you're using ice, load the cooler, then place ice on top, as cold air travels down.

A full cooler will stay cold longer longer than one that is partially filled so it your cooler isn't packed to the brim, pack the remaining space with additional ice.

At the beach or picnic site, keep the cooler out of the direct sun.

Open and close the cooler lid quickly and as infrequently as possible.